Content
Piglets fall to their feet - one of the common problems of all pig breeders. Such a pathology can affect both small piglets, which have just been born, and adult pigs. Treating leg disorders can be lengthy and time consuming.
Why pigs and piglets have legs fail: a list of reasons
Many pig breeders sometimes encounter the piglet's hind legs fail. This can happen for a number of reasons, from common mistakes in keeping animals to serious diseases. Before starting to solve the problem, it is necessary to find out the factor that caused such a situation and only then choose an adequate treatment.
Infectious diseases
There are a number of diseases, one of the symptoms of which may be falling to your feet. The most popular ones are:
- Teschen's disease (enzootic encephalomyelitis), which most commonly affects young piglets between 2 and 6 months of age. Symptoms of the disease are: rhinitis, vomiting, hyperthermia, diarrhea. As a result of the decrease in body temperature, the piglet falls to its feet. First, the hind limbs fail, and then the front;
- Plaguethat can affect pigs at any age. This disease is extremely dangerous and can lead to complete paralysis. The piglet abruptly stops eating, loses its vitality, its legs fail. You can also observe how the pig wheezes and does not stand up;
- Erysipelasaffecting piglets aged 3 months to a year. A bacterial infection is expressed, among other things, in inflammation of the joints, which leads to the fact that the pig sits on its feet;
- Swine flu, the symptoms of which are practically indistinguishable from those in humans. Falling to your feet is the result of complications that have arisen.
Lack of vitamins and minerals
There are many reasons why piglets get sick and cannot stand on their hind and front legs. Among them - and a banal lack of trace elements, vitamins, which the animal does not receive along with food. Treatment of this pathology is a complex process, so you need to know what a pig that falls to its feet most often needs:
- Iron deficiency (anemia) - most often it can be observed in weaning piglets, since there is not enough iron in the sow's milk, and all its reserves in the body are consumed in 72 hours. The Vietnamese breed is the most susceptible to this ailment, since this element is practically absent in the milk of these sows;
- Lack of vitamin D and calcium. As a result, rickets (the treatment of which is long and difficult) or hypocalcium tetany may develop, which negatively affects the condition of the pig's limbs.
Stress
Stressful situations can also cause a pig to lose its hind legs. Most often, a similar fate befalls weaners who are left alone.
Parasites
Worms are an equally common reason why piglets do not stand up.Small pigs suffer especially severely, the body of which cannot withstand the toxic effects exerted on the body by the waste products of parasites. There is a metabolic disorder, depletion of vitamin and mineral reserves, which is difficult to treat.
Containment breach
If the pig is sitting on the priest and cannot stand up, then you should pay attention to the conditions of its keeping, which can cause such a problem:
- dampness;
- drafts;
- cold floor without bedding;
- frequent temperature drop.
These unfavorable factors can lead to the development of various diseases and general weakness of the body. Most often, the owners do not even understand what the treatment should be in such cases and what will help the pig to get back on its feet. 2
How to treat if the pig or pig does not stand up
If the pig is limping in the front or hind leg, the treatment should be selected adequately, based on the reasons for the development of the pathology.
Treatment of infectious diseases
Not all infectious diseases are treatable. Teschen's disease is currently incurable. But piglets are not destroyed: the meat of an infected pig can be used for cooking sausages and preservation.
Other diseases are most often treated with antibiotics. There are many products designed for pigs that not only help fight the disease, but also improve the overall well-being of the piglet. The most popular treatment is Bicillin.
Replenishing vitamin deficiencies
If the piglet suffers from a lack of vitamins and trace elements, more and more often lies and does not stand up, then for the treatment of the resulting pathology, means are chosen that can replenish the body's reserves:
- With anemia, parenteral administration of iron preparations is indicated. The first injection should be given within the first 96 hours after birth in the muscular part of the thigh or in the ear. The second injection is given a week later. At the same time, it is recommended to feed the young and iron preparations together with milk in parallel. You can also use pre-starter compound feed, which can be given to piglets from the fifth day of life;
- With rickets, an integrated approach is required: a single supply of vitamin D and calcium for treatment is not enough. It is important to organize the "leisure" of the pig in such a way that he often stays in the sun. If this is not possible, then you must use an ultraviolet lamp;
- Supplements such as fish meal or bone meal can replenish the reserves of phosphorus and calcium.
There are a number of medications that can help heal the affected pig:
- Tricalcium phosphate... Powder obtained from minerals. It contains over 30% calcium and over 15% phosphorus. When treating a shortage of these elements, the recommended dose is 60 - 120 grams per head, with prevention - 40 - 60 grams. The drug can also be given throughout the year. The regimen is simple: the supplement is included in the diet for 10 days, the next 14 days are off. In the event that the pig fell to its feet, it is not recommended to interrupt the drug intake.
- Fish fat, which allows you to cope with rickets and anemia. It contains not only essential vitamins, but also polyunsaturated fatty acids. For therapeutic purposes, fish oil is used at 50 - 70 g for each piglet, for prophylactic purposes - from 5 to 20 ml.
- Vitamins A and D, without which phosphorus and calcium will not be absorbed. They can be added to the feed, or they can be injected.
Among the drugs for treatment containing the necessary vitamins, one can distinguish:
- Tetravit and Trivit... Piglets are injected 1 ml per week, and the dosage for adults is 5 ml. For treatment, drugs are administered in the same doses, but already 3 times a week. For those who do not want to give injections, the best option is to add drugs to the feed. Small pigs can drip 5 drops a day, adults - 15. Therapy lasts until complete recovery.As a preventive measure, the dose is not changed, you just need to take the remedy for 10 days and take a half-month break.
- Multivitamin or Introvit... Adults are prescribed 5 ml for the treatment of pathology, and small ones - 2 ml once.
- Oligovite... The agent is prescribed once a week, 5 ml for every 100 kg of animal weight (the dosage is indicated for treatment).
There are also stimulants that affect metabolism. Among them are:
- Fos-Bevit;
- Catosal;
- Vitazal.
The preparations are administered in 2 cubes for 10 days - for young individuals and 10 cubes - for adult pigs.
Dealing with stress
In stressful situations, pigs fall on their front and hind legs, and the owners do not know how to help them. Even numerous anti-stress drugs do not always come to the rescue and have the desired treatment effect. Therefore, it is best to avoid the development of stress in the piglets. To do this, young animals, even before weaning from the pig, must be taught to solid feed, and also periodically remove the sow from the pen, leaving the children for a short period of time.
Fight against parasites
Treatment of piglets from parasites is also carried out with special drugs.
- If the pig has trichocephalosis, strongyloidosis, ascariasis, metastrongylosis, esophagostomosis and metastrongylosis, Levamisole is used for treatment, which is prescribed in a dosage of 0.75 ml for every 10 kg of live weight of the pig. It is injected once into the knee fold;
- For pulmonary and gastrointestinal parasites, hyperdmatosis, eye nematodes, psoriasis, estrosis and scabies, Ivermek is prescribed. It is injected into the neck or inner part of the thigh intramuscularly, at a dose of 300 μg per 1 kg of body weight (1 ml per 33 kg).
Improving conditions of detention
When a piglet does not stand on its hind legs, this does not mean that it is terminally ill. Sometimes such complications are caused by improper maintenance of the animal. Elimination of negative causes and treatment of emerging health problems will help to correct the situation:
- the floors in the barn must be warm, it is necessary to change the litter daily so that it performs its main function;
- sources of drafts should be kept eliminated;
- if there is dampness in the room, then the barn must be dried and treated with a solution of lime in order to kill fungi that appear on surfaces with an increased level of humidity;
- temperature drops should not be allowed, it is best that the room has a comfortable microclimate.
Prevention measures
To prevent the piglet from becoming depleted, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with preventive measures in a timely manner. Since the treatment of this pathology can be difficult and lengthy, it is easier to prevent the problem by following a number of recommendations:
- Pigs must be allowed to walk - even in winter in the absence of severe frosts. In addition to fresh air, the piglet gets the opportunity to spend more active time, can find a piece of delicacy useful for itself (even in the snow, in a frozen state), soak up the sun, which is one of the best sources of vitamin D;
- Add vitamins to feed, which are often needed by almost all pigs. They are best purchased ready-made in order to exclude the incompatibility of vitamin complexes and to avoid the need to select a treatment for their overabundance;
- The diet of piglets should also contain chalk, eggshells, red brick, charcoal. All these delicacies are especially necessary for those pigs that do not receive specialized feed, but eat homemade compound feed;
- Regular proglisting is required. So that helminths do not become the reason that the pig has become depleted, their appearance must be prevented;
- Vaccination is also a prerequisite for the prevention of leg pathology.All piglets from birth should be vaccinated according to the vaccination schedule.
Conclusion
When piglets fall to their feet, this is a common and often dangerous problem. Therefore, all livestock breeders should know why this is happening, how to resolve the issue that has arisen and what will help to avoid such a pathology.
